JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 25, 2005) - The ETSU men's golf team will begin its 2005-06 season on Monday with first and second round play in the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate hosted by UAB at the Shoal Creek Golf Club in Birmingham, Ala.

The Buccaneers enter the season fresh off a conference championship and NCAA East Regional appearance in 2005, and are anxious to continue their recent success as they begin their inaugural season as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

ETSU will be led this year by junior Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales), who is coming off arguably the greatest individual season in program history. Finishing the season ranked as the No. 3 player in the country by Golfweek, Davies recorded school records for individual tournament titles (five), single-round score (63) and three-round score (199), while firing 13 sub-70 rounds and finishing in the Top 3 in nine of 12 events. Ending the year with a team-best stroke average of 70.54, Davies was selected as the Southern Conference Golfer of the Year and earned a spot in the NCAA Championships with his second-place finish at the NCAA East Regional.

For his efforts, Davies earned PING First-Team All-America honors and was a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award, which annually goes to the nation's top amateur player. On the international stage this past summer, Davies competed in the Palmer Cup, the Walker Cup, and the U.S. Amateur during the summer, advancing to match play at the U.S. Am.

Along with Davies, the Bucs return several players who posted solid seasons in 2004-05. Among them are sophomores Cian McNamara (Limerick, Ireland) and Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland), who finished second and third on the team in stroke average a year ago, with McNamara ending the season at 73.87 and Shaw ending the year at 75.40.

Along with Shaw and McNamara, the Bucs also added a trio of talented youngsters in freshmen Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh, Scotland), Adam Hodkinson (Dore, England) and Stuart McCance (Tonbridge, England). Findlay joins Davis as a former British Boys Amateur champion and is expected to contribute quickly this season.

As the Buccaneers ended their time in the Southern Conference last year, the victory in the SoCon Tournament gave ETSU head coach Fred Warren the conference record for most tournament victories by a coach. Warren has directed the Bucs to 12 titles in his 19 seasons at ETSU, besting the previous SoCon record of 11 set by Duke's Ellis "Dumpy" Hagler.

For updates on the Bucs' play at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate, visit ETSUBucs.com each evening for a complete wrap up.